County Computer System Gets $800,000 Upgrade

McHenry County officials hope that more than $800,000 in spending on a new computer system will lead to a "level playing field" for computer users in the county building in Woodstock.

The McHenry County Management Services Committee, which oversees the operation of the county building, recently reviewed a report on the status of the facility's new computer infrastructure.

Last June, the County Board approved an emergency appropriation of $1.1 million to update the infrastructure that links the county building's computer networks, enabling users to network with one another.

Carl Pohrte Jr., county information services administrator, had reviewed the old computer systems and found them to be unreliable and antiquated.

"We found that we had poor equipment; we didn't have a skeleton to build a computer system," said Pohrte. "An infrastructure is the skeleton (of the computer networks)."

At a cost of $200,000, four consulting firms were called in to consider the county's options.

Universal Networks of Elmhurst, Advanced Graphical Applications Inc. of Northbrook, McGladrey & Pullen of Schaumburg and Gartner Group of Stamford, Conn., each considered various aspects of the system. They then made recommendations that were integrated into the "level playing field."

One of the first moves was to replace 244 personal computers throughout the county building with upgraded models. The computer hardware cost $452,000 with another $254,000 spent on software. An additional $100,000 was spent on training and new personnel.

Additionally, an educator was hired to help teach county employees how to use the new systems and their software.

The new infrastructure handles tax administration, finance (including budget and payroll), voter registration records, and geographic records for the county. It includes an upgrade of the Justice Department's computer network.

Pohrte said that the report was to verify to the committee that the funds were spent as directed.

The next step is to run new computer cable throughout the county buildings. The new cable is expected to cost up to $800,000.